For the Ego Religion is a Tool

By Jayaram V

The ego loves religion and pretends to be religious for appearances
sake. It takes great pride in its religious beliefs and becomes
deeply attached to its religious identity. It loves the drama, the
mystery and the aura associated with the religion, which it follows,
and the power and authority that stems from it. For egoistic people,
religion is just another tool to propagate their own identities
and further their vested interests. Through religious activity,
the egoistic self tries to balance its guilt and shame with the
illusion of being pious.

The superficial, ritualistic and superstitious aspects of every
religion are the invention of egoistic people, who find in them
a great opportunity to extend their influence and establish their
authority. Religion gives the egoistic individuals an opportunity
to protect themselves against their own sins, without making major
sacrifices or eschewing their vital interests. They follow religion
according to their needs, aspirations, convenience and beliefs,
speaking on behalf of God or against Him, in the name of God or
in the name of scriptures and in favor of authority symbols or against
them. They may accept or reject their religious beliefs, according
to their convenience and personal agendas. In short, for the human
ego everything connected with religion is a means to further its
own ends.

Because our egos extend so much influence upon our attitude towards
religions and shape their beliefs and practices, no religion in
this world is free from the pollution caused by our distorted thinking
and irrational behavior. Our religions do not represent God as much
as our egoism and ignorance. They do not reveal truth, but the truth
we want to pursue. They do not represent God, but the God in whom
we want to believe. Although we are ignorant, we live and act as
if we are certain about our religious beliefs and our notions of
what God is and what He is not. We use religion to boost our egos,
to enhance our identities and to proclaim our authority and superiority
over others. Under the influence of our religious beliefs, we take
pride in our religious identities, in the scriptures we read and
in the prophets and masters we venerate. We use religion to compensate
for our shortcomings and personal failures and hide our fears and
insecurities. We invoke the authority of religion to inflict pain
and suffering upon others. We use religion to curtail the freedom
of individual people, where as in truth religion is supposed to
free us from all bonds. When ignorant and egoistic people usurp
religious authority, you cannot expect much from them.

In today’s world, religion is misused for many selfish ends.
In almost every religion we find people who want to help God, instead
of seeking His help for their own salvation. They speak for Him
and try to assist Him every step of the way, as defenders of faith
and soldiers of God, as if God is some kind of a political leader
who wants His people to speak for Him and defend His reputation
and ideology.

Serving the humanity in the name of God is one thing. But indulging
in acts of violence and destruction in the name of God is entirely
different. It is ignorance and pride which makes people indulge
in the most heinous acts and fight religious wars in God’s name,
as if God has created this world to stage His holy wars and violent
crusades. Such ignorance and arrogance degrades the very aim which
our religions intend to serve, which is spreading the ideal of oneness
and universal brotherhood.

How many times you have heard, “My God is a jealous God?” Is
He? Have you met Him and talked to Him? How can God be jealous about
Himself? Can your left hand be jealous of your right hand? Can your
right brain be jealous of your left brain? Only jealous minds can
invent a jealous God.

The material world is an integral and inseparable part of God’s
universal body. You harm it and you are but harming a part of God’s
body. You defile it and you are but defiling a part of God's
universal form. Some may assume that God lives only in the heaven
and rules it. They may tell you that all the divinity, sanctity
and morality come from the heaven or some invisible and formless
God. It is stupidity and profound ignorance to believe that God
is not found here upon earth, but only in the heaven or in only
certain holy places where you can set up your shop and do your business.

When people talk to one another egoistically about God and religion,
nothing much comes out of it, except hatred, ill will, skepticism,
anger and violence. When religions come under the influence of our
individual and collective egos, they become responsible for much
of the bloodshed and violence on earth and unleash the very evil
which everyone wants to avoid in the first place. Even after centuries
of ill will and religious hatred, we have not learned from our past.
We continue to divide the humanity in the name of God and religion,
denigrating the very moral and spiritual values which they preach.
The image of God which our religions promote is discolored and disfigured
by our narrow mindedness and social conditioning.

Although we know that God is beyond all limitations and conditioning,
we impart various levels of conditionality and personality to Him
and engage in endless debates to prove or disprove our respective
beliefs and theories about Him. God and ego have a peculiar relationship.
The latter is a shadow, a formation, which can exist only in relationship
with God or Self. It cannot exist independently without Him. It
cannot also coexist with Him as His equal. But it strives to usurp
His role, speak for Him and engage in acts that defy His law. The
traditional role assigned to the egoistic self is that of a follower
or a devotee. But many people act egoistically as if they are His
spokespersons and guardians. The ego is truly an enemy of God, while
it pretends to be His serious devote and earnest follower.

About: Hinduwebsite.com provides original
and scholarly information about Hinduism and related religions, society and
culture. We promote tolerance and the highest ideals reflected in these cultures.
We have been serving the world community since 1999.
More...